Route 7 Review | Page 27

Coo... BY Jeremy Casabella When did the quietness start? He sees light in the window and tries to climb inside expecting the warmth of our old room, which is an office now or a guest space or a nursery; the city changes constantly a remembrance of great acquaintances that neither listen nor write. He said less more softly until he was barely noticeable and no one noticed. I watch him now inaudibly cuss concrete and cumuli under midday riffraff in front of a department store, think the gold I remember shimmies under the grease of his hair, and hat but look into his waterstain irises for no retina and feel like a winded pigeon waiting for the breeze subside. Jeremy Casabella lives in Bakersfield, CA where he teaches part time. He writes short stories, poetry, and pwoermds. His most recent poems have appeared in Eclipse Literary Journal and Shot Glass. His pwoermds are featured in the anthology The Secrets of the Universes in a Single String of Letters, from Xexoxial Editions.